How much money would you think it would cost to select a site for the new Transit Center in downtown Knoxville? Write that number down on a piece of paper. Got it? Good.

According to WATE "news" that price is $3.1 million for the planning and selection process.

That’s right, you read it correctly. Did either WATE or any or the other usual suspects in journalism give a break out of that 3.1 million dollars?

So did this selection site allow for future development of light rail? Of course not.

Great job everybody. It’s just OPM. Other peoples money.

Carry on.

Not sure why but I’m getting press releases now. Here’s one that you’ll see tomorrow from the National Shooting Sports Foundation:

Handpicked by Mayor Bloomberg; Federal Court Appoints Lawyer With Ties to Gun Control Group to Monitor Gun Dealers

11/16/2006

To: National Desk

Contact: Lawrence G. Keane of National Shooting Sports Foundation, 203-426-1320 or 203-526-6773

NEWTOWN, CT, Nov. 16th/U.S. Newswire/ — The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry’s trade association, said today it was outraged but not surprised to learn that Brooklyn, NY-based federal court judge Jack B. Weinstein had appointed a lawyer handpicked by New York City Mayor Bloomberg to monitor several small out-of-state “mom and pop” gun stores that had been sued by Bloomberg earlier this year.

The lawyer, Andrew Weissman, is a partner with the Chicago-based law firm of Jenner and Block. The firm represents the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a Washington, D.C.-based gun control group known for its extremist positions, which include advocating a ban on civilian ownership of handguns. Jenner & Block filed a brief for VPC supporting the City of Chicago’s attempt to obtain highly sensitive law enforcement data on guns traced by law enforcement during criminal investigations. Jenner and Block’s brief for VPC argued the data should be released to the public despite opposition from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that it would endanger ongoing criminal investigations and a federal law that specifically bars public disclosure. A federal appeals court rejected Jenner and Block’s arguments. Chicago had sought the data for use in its lawsuit against gun makers, which was ultimately dismissed by a state appeals court.

“Judge Weinstein’s Halloween Day order appointing a lawyer handpicked by Mayor Bloomberg for whose firm has strong ties to a radical anti-gun group gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘Trick-or-Treat,’” said Lawrence G. Keane, chief spokesperson for the firearms industry. “We fear it will be a nightmare for these small businesses.”

In a series of earlier rulings in a related case, Judge Weinstein ruled the City of New York could have and use privileged gun trace data in its civil suit against gun makers. The case, originally filed in June 2000 by then-mayor Rudy Giuliani and continued by Bloomberg, is now before a federal appeals court in New York.

Gun makers have long been concerned with Judge Weinstein’s bias and have even asked Judge Weinstein to recuse himself in the city’s suit against the manufacturers. Weinstein refused to step aside.

Bloomberg’s suit against 15 out-of-state “mom-and-pop” gun dealers claims they participated in “simulated straw-purchases.” Bloomberg, despite promises made at a press conference announcing the suit, has failed to make available evidence of the alleged illegal conduct to the ATF, whom he had described as “asleep at the switch.” The actions of Bloomberg’s private investigators, done without the knowledge of either ATF or the New York City police department, interfered with as many as 18 ongoing criminal investigations and are now being investigated by ATF.

As part of the dealer settlement agreements, Weissman as “special master” will oversee and monitor three of the five settling dealers’ business practices – and though the remaining two settling dealers will have their special master appointed by a Georgia Court, Bloomberg will request that Weissman be appointed to oversee them as well.

In settling the dealers did not admit to any wrongdoing. The monitor’s oversight will be largely redundant to that of the ATF but includes new powers, including videotaping firearm purchasers without their permission. The monitor will also be able to fine the dealers for violations of the settlement agreement. “Ironically, Bloomberg strongly opposes pending legislation (H.R. 5092) that would grant similar powers to ATF,” Keane said.

“I doubt these small business owners had any knowledge of Weissman and his firm’s ties to the radically anti-gun Violence Policy Center. They clearly have a basis to go back to court and demand that a truly neutral party be appointed as a special master,” said Keane.

So, the token appointees as part of the settlement are anti-gun. Who’d have thunk it.

Gene:

Seems State Senator Burchett broke the law when he threatened lethal force against four teenagers because those teenagers were unarmed and the incident occurred at a place of business. Well, according to WATE (link):

Still no corrections issued regarding the irresponsible info they gave.

Update: For those just joining us, I am not of the opinion that Senator Burchett broke the law. However, if the aforementioned WATE article were factually accurate, then the law would have been broken.

Same as the old boss only she can’t move her eyes or furrow her brow. Rich on the Democrat leadership:

The American People Have Spoken, and They Want Change

Which is why we’re hearing the same old names coming to the front for leadership positions in congress on both sides of the aisle.

Ayup. See, election time is over. So, all that talk about reform and new directions and ethics and rainbows and kittens and lollipops was just that. Talk.

Roger continues his Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week with The War On Terror. Funny, biting stuff. Past issues:

Federal spending

Schiavo

The Internet Gambling Law.

Last night, I was playing cards with some friends. One of those friends’ wife is a professional photographer. She does some damn good work too. My friend told me that his wife was hired to be in the delivery room to photograph the arrival of a baby who was going to die after birth. According to him, there is simply no saving the child and the child will die within hours of birth. The couple wants to capture their brief time with the child on film.

It’s a heartbreaking tale. My eyes teared up and I’ve thought about it all morning. So, to a couple I’ve never met and a child I never will meet, you’re in my thoughts and prayers.

1 – come up with product and process.

2 – pay government to pass laws eliminating competition from people who do it better than you.

Someone put this man on the supreme court!

First, Lumpy, now state senator Burchett:

State Sen. Tim Burchett says he caught a group of youngsters during a break-in Wednesday, held them at gunpoint and fed them chocolate-chip cookies until Knox County sheriff’s deputies arrived.

That’s Southern hospitality, offering you food at gun point.

A commenter at Xrlqy Wrlqy’s:

The 52-47 vote in 2004 was before the elections. You didnt state that. After the elections the vote would have reveresed to 47-52. The additions of pro gun seats in north and south carolina, florida,south dakota and louisiana gave the US senate 5 more votes to stop the awb. With the current of loss of Jim talent being the only pro gun vote to leave the senate the new vote would be 51 to 48. This is all assuming webb, tester, and casey all vote pro gun.

Well, they seem to be pro-gun.

Update: The NRA, however, says The Fight Begins. Is it like pledge week at PBS or something?

Indeed:

There is no better barometer for government involvement and ignoring citizens’ rights than on gun issues.

From a college paper too. Maybe there is hope for the future.

Here’s the presser:

A United States citizen who now lives in Great Britain has joined with the country’s leading gun owner rights organization in a federal lawsuit that says nonresident citizens are unfairly being targeted by existing laws that restrict gun ownership to those who live in the U.S.

Attorneys William B. Mateja, a principal in the Dallas and Washington, D.C., offices of Fish & Richardson P.C., and Alan Gura of Alexandria, Va.’s Gura & Possessky PLLC, filed the federal claim today on behalf of London, England, resident Maxwell Hodgkins and the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation.

Hodgkins, a 31-year-old real estate broker, is asking for a legal injunction that would prohibit federal officials from enforcing several “vague and ambiguous” gun control statutes. A Dallas native, Hodgkins is an avid gun collector and sportsman who legally owns and stores firearms in the U.S. and holds related permits for weapons possession and concealment.

Mateja previously served in the current Bush Administration as senior counsel to the U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Among other duties, he oversaw the Justice Department’s violent crime efforts, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and President Bush’s Project Safe Neighborhood. Prior to that, he served as lead counsel in the notable Second Amendment case U.S. v. Timothy Joe Emerson.

The statutes in question ban the receipt, sale and purchase of firearms by U.S. citizens who claim legal residency outside the U.S. Expatriates cannot buy guns, and while they can receive guns for “lawful sporting purposes,” they cannot do so for lawful self-defense while visiting the U.S. The suit claims that these laws violate the Second and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Although Hodgkins has not been arrested or prosecuted, his attorneys say he could face federal charges should he attempt to access his guns in the U.S.

“These laws serve no useful purpose,” says Gura. “If Mr. Hodgkins may safely have a gun for target practice or hunting, he can certainly have a gun for other lawful purposes.”

I’ve said it a lot.

Memphis Mayor Herenton (who is not a member of mayors against guns) says:

“The streets of Memphis are very much like the streets of many major cities. Many of them are unsafe, so I urge the citizens to use an abundance of caution.”

Strong words. And here are a few more. “I do not favor vigilante justice. Not everybody should own a gun. But the Constitution does permit people to own handguns for their own protection.” Mayor Herenton has admitted one time that he carried a handgun, during a 1998 downtown rally of the Ku Klux Klan. “I am authorized to carry a handgun,” Herenton says.

And in the city of Greanleaf, Idaho:

After seeing the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, a city councilor in this tiny Idaho town founded by pacifist Quakers came up with a novel idea.

Ordinance 208, passed by the City Council on Tuesday, asks Greenleaf’s 862 residents who do not object on religious or other grounds to keep a gun at home in case they are overrun by refugees from the Gulf Coast.

Note: they asked. They did not require.

Some of the media in Knoxville has lost it. While people in Knox and surrounding counties have become accustomed to the biased, slanted, and sensational reporting that can occur around here, this week a local Television station and an alt weekly newspaper out did themselves. This is wrong on so many levels it takes a little time to lay out. Some of the more idiotic parts, some second amendment issues and common sense, will warrant another post.

A sensational story from WATE Television news and a rush to judgment with a completely erroneous and slanted editorial in this weeks Metro Pulse has brought a new level of shame to Knoxville media, if that is possible.

Here is what happened. WATE asked Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert to demonstrate what happened when 19 year old Kane Stackhouse tried to rob him at gunpoint last Saturday afternoon. What WATE showed on Television shocked many people as it appeared that Commissioner Lambert drew a loaded handgun and pointed it at a WATE cameraman. WATE had nothing in the news report that suggested otherwise.

But that is not what happened.

Even though that is exactly what a scathing editorial from the Metro Pulse conveyed. The unsigned editorial starts off plainly enough stating that Lambert “has shown himself to be a danger to himself and others.”

Why would the editorial staff of the Metro Pulse write that?

Because the news report from WATE completely faked them out that’s why.

Even though Lumpy Lambert had a post on KnoxViews that explained that he had cleared the chamber and removed the magazine from the handgun, a Kel-Tec .380, and that he had carefully explained how to make sure a handgun was unloaded; WATE never showed that on air.

The response in the Metro pulse Editorial? This quote, “But in the midst of the ensuing excitement, Lambert did the unconscionable. He pointed his pistol directly at a TV camera recording his description of the event. A firearms instructor’s take on Lambert’s gesture, done for the dramatic media effect, was that it was the height of irresponsibility for a supposedly trained and permitted firearms user. Pointing a gun at something you don’t intend to fire on is the ultimate no-no.”

It is such unprofessional journalism that it may not meet the standard for libel. One would think a simple phone call would be required to confirm such dramatic writing. It is a shame there is not another comparison to illustrate how sloppy this reporting was.

But there is. On Wednesday Tennessee State Senator Tim Burchett held three juveniles and one adult at gunpoint at his motorcycle warehouse until Knox County deputies took them into custody. It is not reported if any of the four suspects were armed. But according to an error riddled special report on, “Laws for protecting yourself with a gun” by Kristin Farley of WATE, Senator Burchett had no right to draw a handgun unless the one of the four suspects drew one first.

Requests from both myself and Say Uncle to correct the errors in the Kristin Farley piece have gone unanswered. Which is a shame because there is obviously some confusion by not just the media but also private citizens. It sure would be nice to get this cleared up. Confused people can make mistakes.

So at what point does possibly libelous, biased, inaccurate, slanted, and sensational reporting become a problem? I guess that might be academic because it seems we passed that point quite some time ago.

Check it:

Low fare carrier Allegiant Air has added Las Vegas as the new, non-stop destination for passengers at McGhee Tyson Airport.

The first available date to fly to Las Vegas is February 15 with fares of $99 per person one way.

Don’t tell anyone, but it’s actually a debate I care little about and could go either way on. I mean, yeah, women who breastfeed can cover up but people just shouldn’t be so uptight about it. Two wrongs and all of that. Either way, it’s not important to me. I just want to see how many euphemisms for boobs I can sneak into an argument.

Well, it took less than two years for the Democrats to do something stupid. Byrd has chair of the appropriations committee.

Update: OK, there’s enough stupid to go around.

Jay wants to know which one he should get.

It’s now been over one month since I reported that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam is a member of the Joyce Foundation-funded, anti-gun group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This has been mentioned on my site and linked by instapundit, NRA News, and other local blogs; and it has been covered by radio host Steve Gill. But I’ve heard nary a peep out of the local press regarding his membership in a group whose desire is to export New York City type gun controls to other cities (NY controls include licensing, registering, only celebrities and those political connections can get permits to carry weapons, and excessive fees).

Mayor Haslam was the president of Pilot Oil prior to becoming mayor. His family still runs the business. I’ve long bought my gas, snacks and the occasional sixer of brews at Pilot stations since they’re conveniently located. I will no longer do that. I’ll drive the extra mile or two and spend my money at Weigel’s. My weekly $50 fill up will go to them.

I encourage other Tennessee gun owners to do the same. And to tell your gun-owning friends about it as well.

Dear Firefox,

I appreciate that you’re always trying to improve your product. However, every time you release an update, your new and improved version fucks my shit up. Tabbed browsing doesn’t work like it did and you broke all my cool extensions. And the updated extensions don’t work as well. Knock that shit off.

Love,

SayUncle

P.S. I’m not Rediscovering the Web, I’m rediscovering the F6 key.

Think the Democrats Won’t Take Your Guns? Think Again.

Wayne LaPierre (who has fixed the picture issue) notes that:

In Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor Frank Melton is scheduled to go on trial for illegally carrying his concealed firearm inside a church, a school, and a park.

…

Melton was one of the first mayors to sign up with Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, and he followed his meeting at Gracie Mansion with a call to ban all gun shows in Jackson.

I guess that’s enough to keep him in Bloomberg’s good graces, because as of this writing, he’s still on the list of mayors fighting for New York-style gun-control laws… even in Mississippi.

Yeah, what happened?

Mr. Completely made one out of a Taurus.

Top 10 battle rifles.

Rog has been doing a series on Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week. It’s quite funny. Federal spending, Schiavo, and The Internet Gambling Law. I have to confess, I had difficulty getting past the pics of the cheerleaders but once you do, good stuff.

Those whacky conservatives. They get in power and abandon, well, nearly everything they stand for, except the God and gay-cooties-hating stuff. My nominee for a future Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week: Bush’s broken veto pen. It shows up only once to say no to stem cell research funding? Feh. Maybe it will wake up for the next two years.

Over at Knoxviews, Lumpy responds in comments about the gun safety issues:

Hi this is Greg “LUMPY” Lambert I don’t usually post here but I decided to address some of the issues that have come up. The video clip of me drawing the firearm was staged. My weapon was unloaded and the clip was removed. The reporter asked if I could show her what happened using the gun as a prop, I unloaded the firearm and showed her and the camera man how to determine that a gun is unloaded.

Pointing even unloaded firearms at something you don’t intend to shoot in an unsafe practice and should not be done under normal circumstances, however firearms are often used as props. When using a firearm, as a prop normal safety rules don’t apply, in this situation the gun was unloaded and checked immediately before the footage was taped.

If something ongoing were being produced (like a movie or TV show) an air soft (realistic toy) gun would be used or the weapon would have been permanently modified so that it could not chamber a live round. In the case of a short one-time sequence like the footage for the news story often a real weapon (usually the actual weapon used in the events that are being recreated) are used but it is absolutely essential that the weapon be checked and rechecked to keep accidents from happening.

So says everyone. From Fark, some campaign posters:

South Africa, a country still struggling to shed its legacy of discrimination, has taken a huge step toward ending marriage discrimination. The SA Parliament overwhelmingly voted for something akin to full and equal marriage rights. South Africa joins Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain as countries that have equal access to marriage.

The new law offers something something slightly less than equality in that government officials can refuse to marry same-sex couples “on the basis of conscience”. This bigot’s loophole will be challenged in court, and under South Africa’s very progressive constitution, the error will hopefully be remedied quickly.

“We can’t be in the situation where civil officers can decide who they want to marry and who they don’t want to marry,” she said. “They aren’t able to refuse to marry a black person and a white person. This is unconstitutional.”

Congrats to South Africa! Let’s hope they finish the job soon!

In comments here, Countertop says:

Just had a long leisurely lunch today with a former high ranking Clinton Administration official and long time Friend of Bill from Arkansas (who works as an outside consultant for one of my clients). There were less than half a dozen of us sitting at the table at the Capital Grill gaming out possibilities over the next two years for moving legislation and the difficult minefields we have to walk through. Someone brought up the subject of Pelosi keeping her troops in line – and I mentioned the gun control agenda and calls for a renewed AWB. This guy, fell off his seat and said thats the most toxic issue a democrat could touch and as far as he (and presumably the Clintons) were concerned they (specifically including Nancy Pelosi who is a smart smart politiican) are smart enough not to touch that third rail.

He compared it to the stem cell blunder Republicans made in Missouri and thought that they (gun banners) would have to fight even to get face time with Pelosi (much less Harry Reid who could lose his majority to defections over the issue).

To further press his point – Harold Ford Jr. walked by – and he simply said Tester, Webb, and Ford. No one would have imagined their success this election – and if gun control were an issue in any of the races, Reid would be in the minority.

I just report it as I hear it.

Don’t let your guard down, but don’t get too worried

Since the local press is All Lumpy All The Time, it’s no surprise that the inevitable bit about carry permits pops up. That’s a fine and noble cause until you start giving people misinformation that can get them arrested or killed. WATE’s Kristin Farley did just that in this piece. So, annotated with Uncle’s corrections (bear in mind, Uncle is no lawyer):

If you choose to carry a gun for protection, there are some places that are off-limits while you’re armed. Those include buildings where alcohol is sold and served, all courtrooms, school campuses, public parks and playgrounds.

Unless you’re a handgun carry permit holder or are transporting the firearm, all places are off-limits. If you choose to carry a gun for protection, you must first obtain a handgun carry permit. This includes taking a training course, passing a background check, and paying a $150 fee.

As for self-defense laws, the state of Tennessee says you are justified in threatening or using force against someone when you believe your life is in immediate danger from that person.

Actually, your life or the life of another are both justification for the use of force.

If you’re inside your home, you have increased protection under the law. That means, you’re justified in using deadly force, even if the perpetrator isn’t armed.

The perpetrator being armed is irrelevant. What matters is that you’re in fear of great bodily harm to you or others. For example, if a 6 feet, six inch tall 320 pound man is threatening severe bodily harm to a 5 feet, 2 inch 90 pound woman, use of force is justified.

But in the case of the attempted robbery at Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert’s car dealership, increased protection goes away.

No, it doesn’t. A place of business is neither more nor less special than a home.

Legally, Lambert could only use his gun if the suspect had one, too. And in that case, he did.

Err, wrong. If Lambert was in fear of his life or the threat of severe bodily harm, use of force is justified. For example, if the young man had grabbed a baseball bat or was easily capable of overpowering Mr. Lambert physically, use of force is justified.

WATE has done a disservice with this report and it could cost someone dearly. I hope that they correct this error.

Update: One I missed. In comments, Rustmeister notes that the report errs when it says off-limits places include where alcohol is sold. Actually, it’s where alcohol is sold for on-site consumption (i.e., grocery store that sells beer is OK, whereas Hooters is not).

Meanwhile, at WATE’s message board is exactly why a correction is needed:

Kristin Farley’s article about how to legally protect yourself is amazing to me! As a Wisconsin citizen whose right to security and defense is illegally being restricted by our state governor and being endorsed by the local media, it is very refreshing to see that other parts of America live free.

I hope you folks down there appreciate that even your media understands that presonal (sic) protection is a right guarenteed (sic) by the Constitution and not a privilege granted by law.

If a reader is registered there, they may want to let this person know.

Update 2: Heh. I get it wrong too. In comments, Kevin says:

Now, I am not a lawyer, but as a Tennessee permit holder I feel the need to clarify a few things. (Assuming the law hasn’t change in the two years since I took my permit course)

If you’re inside your home, you have increased protection under the law. That means, you’re justified in using deadly force, even if the perpetrator isn’t armed.

The perpetrator being armed is irrelevant. What matters is that you’re in fear of great bodily harm to you or others. For example, if a 6 feet, six inch tall 320 pound man is threatening severe bodily harm to a 5 feet, 2 inch 90 pound woman, use of force is justified.

Actually, if you’re inside your home you are always justified in using deadly force against an intruder. The act of illegally entering a home creates the presumption that you intend to commit serious bodily injured to the occupants.

But in the case of the attempted robbery at Knox County Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert’s car dealership, increased protection goes away.

No, it doesn’t. A place of business is neither more nor less special than a home.

No. A business is less special than a home. As above, any illegal entrance into a home creates the legal presumption that you are there to cause serious bodily injury to the occupants, therefore use of deadly force is always justified against intruders. In a place of business there has to be a threat of serious bodily injury before deadly force is justified.

Not meaning to pick a nit with the any of the above, but I think it’s important to get this stuff exactly right.

Uncle says: Indeed it is and corrects his error.

In comments here, Sebastion says of the recent Democrat take over:

I am not optimistic. I’d really like to believe this wasn’t a total disaster, but the party is still run by the loons. Here’s what I think is going to happen:

Bush will accept virtually the entire democratic agenda in exchange for the Democrats agreeing to a compromise in Iraq that is less than the “cut and run” they need to really placate their base.

There will be an attempt, a serious attempt, to pass another assault weapons ban in 2007. Probably as an amendment to a bill the Republicans really need to pass. Whether it does pass or not is another story. The new ban will not have a sunset clause and will include 50 caliber rifles. I think we’ll be lucky to get a ban identical to the old one.

There is no chance at all of passing any pro-gun legislation through Congress for the foreseeable future.

Democrats will block any sufficiently conservative candidates for the courts that would uphold the second amendment.
After the assault weapons ban, expect them to try for something else.

Democrats will begin to lose in areas they’ve gained grounds, but the damage will be done. Don’t forget a Republican congress was unable to repeal the assault weapons ban in 1996. Once it’s in there, it’s not coming out.

I think it’s a disaster, and we’re going to be on the defensive for the foreseeable future. We need to be organized, we need to care, and we need to join the NRA. Whether you like it or not, think they suck or not, they are the organization that makes the politicians pay attention. No one else has their clout in Washington.

Over at the gun blogs, another militia type intentionally got arrested for making machine guns specifically to challenge the law:

This is a very important episode in the war on guns and in the fight for our freedoms. Wayne Fincher is a Lieutenant Commander in the Militia of Washington County, a legally organized militia under the laws of Arkansas. They have manufactured several machine guns from demilled weapons and have petitioned the state of Arkansas for protections guarenteed by both state and federal constitutions.

[...]

This arrest of Lt. Commander Wayne Fincher could be the beginning of the overturning of United States vs. Miller . This group has done everything above board and within the constitution. They have informed the State of Arkansas of all their actions and expected this arrest.

Could be a case to watch. I wonder why it’s always the militia sorts that do this sort of thing. The man who was arrested has a spotless record too. Could be interesting.

Massachusetts has spent considerable time and energy blaming its crime on guns obtained in New Hampshire. Odd how New Hampshire doesn’t have the same crime problem. Anyhoo, New Hampshire fires back noting that:

NH says Mass. putting police in danger

The lax approach Massachusetts takes to entering its violent felony and serious offender warrants into the FBI’s national computerized database endangers New Hampshire police officers who encounter these fugitives on the streets with no way of knowing their background.

Radley has a rundown of some more botched police raids and other police abuse.

That’s pretty fuckin’ funny:

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To head into the army recruiting office so he could fight in Iraq. Oh, wait. I told that wrong. I forgot to say the chicken was retarded.

Late for Dinner asks what’s wrong with this picture. Yes, some gun safety violations. But speaking of Lumpy, Betty Bean notes his impeccable taste in 380s:

The hapless holdup man, whom Lambert said looked to be about 19, had walked up to the car lot around 1 p.m. saying he wanted to buy a car. He had his eye on a 2005 Ford Focus priced at $10,000 and asked for a test drive. When Lambert went out to his own car to retrieve a dealer’s tag, he said something told him to open the console and retrieve his own gun – a Keltec .380 that he has a permit to carry.

I love my Kel-Tec. Actually, Betty, you don’t have a permit to carry a specific gun. Just a permit to carry a gun. Any handgun but a machine gun, if I recall correctly.

That said, second-guessing Lumpy’s situation is likely unfair and the Beanster points out that:

Lumpy got snookered by whoever did that Channel 6 story — he trusted them to be fair and he allowed himself to be talked into re-enacting the attempted hold-up. In return, they ran a still shot that makes him look like a demented freak instead of a victim. Lumpy would be better off if he were a little less trusting, a little less willing to accommodate those who would set him up.

Oooh, Siggy.

The AP:

Adkins said Justice and King likely were killed by the same weapon, a .22-caliber shotgun.

Dear Schree,

The election was last week. I notice that everyone else has removed their campaign signs from around the area where I work. Yours are still there. They’re kind of an eyesore and remind me of the horrible campaign season that seemed to go on for a decade.

Please send someone to remove them.

Thank you,

SayUncle

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership has gone to a blog format. Here’s a post on spinning the elections:

The gun lobby’s spin operation in the wake of its sizable defeats last Tuesday is literally unbelievable. How, for example, can George Will say during the Sunday morning roundtable discussion on the Stephanopoulos show that the NRA was a “winner” when they lost over 82 percent of the 46 called races where their endorsed candidates ran against candidates endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence?

Well, the gun lobby hasn’t said that, to my knowledge. In fact, they’re quite down on it. The anti-gun lobby, of course, is spinning it like crazy even though it’s not great for them either.

I’ve not tried to leave a comment yet but I’d guess they’re heavily moderated. They don’t want any truth getting out.

Kopel:

Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi has endorsed John Murtha for Majority Leader, according to The Hill. Murtha is a a southwestern Pennsylvania Democrat with a long-standing A rating from the National Rifle Association. Hoyer is a Maryland Democrat, with a long-standing and well-deserved F rating, although he has sometimes worked to procure federal military contracts for Beretta USA, a firearms manufacturer in his district.

Who would rather elect a dead person than a Democrat. Heh.

Cam says the congress isn’t as pro-gun as we thought:

Just going down the list, I’d have to disagree with his assessment of Carper in Delaware. Countertop says he’s in the middle, but NRA gave him an “F” (as did GOA). Countertop says Florida’s Bill Nelson’s in the middle, but the NRA and GOA both gave him an “F” as well. Same for Tom Harkin in Iowa and Amy Klobuchar in MN. In fact, don’t even get me started with Klobuchar.

Countertop also says Missouri’s Claire McCaskill’s a pro-gun candidate, and I have no idea where that came from. She was rated “F” by both NRA and GOA, she opposed concealed carry in Missouri (as Klobuchar did in Minnesota), and supports renewing the Clinton Gun Ban. Maybe she turns out to vote with gun owners, but there’s nothing in her past that would indicate that’s going to be the case.

Miss any gun news last week? GLN rounds it up.

Xrlq takes me to task for calling Missouri Senator-elect Claire McCaskill “not that pro-gun”, noting her F from the NRA. Fine, she’s anti-gun. So anti-gun that she touted the endorsement of an anti-gun group that fakes being pro-gun to deceive people. See here.

The LA Times says the old liberals (you know, the dumb ones) will be duking it out with the new ones:

After toppling the long-dominant Republicans, the Democratic Party’s incoming congressional leaders have found themselves in another difficult struggle – with their own supporters.

Some of the very activists who helped restore the Democrats to a majority in the House and Senate last week are claiming credit for the victories and demanding their due: a set of ambitious – and politically provocative – actions on gun control, abortion, national security and other issues that party leaders fear could alienate moderate voters and leave Democrats vulnerable to GOP attacks as big spenders or soft on terrorism.

The Democrats are going to have to deal with their internal issues. More:

Similar vows are coming from lobbyists for abortion rights, who want to expand family-planning options for poor women and scale back Bush’s focus on abstinence education, and from gun-control advocates, who hope to revive a lapsed ban on assault weapons. Labor unions, a core Democratic constituency, are demanding universal health care and laws discouraging corporations from seeking cheap labor overseas.

A lot of those pretty new seats you guys have went to pro-gun Dems. I wouldn’t go pushing a ban on weapons that look like assault weapons. See:

At the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the leading gun-control advocacy group, Paul Helmke has high hopes for the assault-weapons ban – and he, too, can list races where candidates backed by his organization defeated those supported by the National Rifle Association.

But Helmke, the Brady Campaign’s president and a former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., acknowledged that his challenge is to persuade potentially squeamish Democrats that his cause is not “radioactive.”

Many Democratic strategists have come to believe that supporting gun-control laws alienates rural voters and many independents. “Guns are a tricky issue,” Helmke said. “But the elections show there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

You’re half right. The elections were still close and there was only about 6% turnover. I wouldn’t go betting the farm that guns won’t cost the Democrats again, like it did in 1996 after the passage of the assault weapons ban. Remember, even Clinton conceded that:

On November 8th, we got the living daylights beat out of us, losing eight Senate races and fifty-four House seats, the largest defeat for our party since 1946….The NRA had a great night

Don’t go there, guys.

Jed is sporting new blog digs at Freedom Sight.

Contributing to a worthy cause.

Aunt B. thought it was a good idea to have some. So, she wrote some.

I’ve had terms of use and a contact page for a while in full smart ass glory. But, all you lawyer-type readers out there, it begs the question: Do these things really matter or provide any level of legal protection at all?

I guess I need to a link policy and privacy policy too.

That’s what insty calls it. Here it is. Simpler version: Ooh, pretty.

We just bought a plasma on Sunday. Should be here Wednesday. I was sort of disappointed as the the mantle above the fireplace (which I had a media slot put in) was about 1.5 inches too short for the 50 incher. We got the 42 incher.

Here’s my bizarro psychology: Back in 2000 when me and the Mrs. decided to live in sin, our first major purchase together was a big screen TeeVee. Not just a big screen, the biggest screen. We bought a 60 inch projection set (a month later, the 72 inch came out and I was pissed). This was when HD was not as popular and we saw no point in that kind of bling for 4 HD channels. We still have that TeeVee in our rec room. It’s a great TeeVee, with a good picture. Honestly, me and the Mrs. really like that TeeVee a whole lot. But a part of me kinda wishes Junior would throw a hammer through it or something so I can get a plasma for the rec room.

So long Jack.

I love East Tennessee. Even the County Commissioners are strapped:

My good friend Greg “Lumpy” Lambert who is also a Knox county commissioner had a little run in today that ended with guns being drawn. I happened to call Lumpy today and got the full story. Lumpy does used car sales for a real job. A customer came and wanted to purchase a car for about 10k. Lumpy was happy to sell but got a little concerned when the person had little interest in having the car checked by a mechanic.

The customer went out side to smoke a cigarette. Lumpy went outside to tell him it was time to do some paper work. When the man came back in Lumpy had a bad feeling and had his hand on his gun he keeps on him at most all times. The man started to pull his gun…..Bad move. Lumpy does quick draw competitions for fun and had his gun pointing down the criminals throat before the criminal had his own gun half drawn. After some harsh words the criminal dropped his gun.

The main reason that people carry handguns is for protection. The question now is will the firearm you have do the job?

A woman was released from the hospital a day after she was shot in the head six times in an attack police blamed on her ex-husband, Brazilian media reported Saturday.
………
Doctors could not explain how Pereira survived the attack. The .32-caliber bullets didn’t break through her skull and didn’t even need to be immediately extracted, doctors said. Pereira also was shot once in the hand.

I hear a lot of guys suggest smaller calibers for the ladies. Nice, but does it leave them underpowered?

Here, Tom says:

Are some people finally going to stop calling it [McCain-Feingold] the “Incumbent Protection Act?” Because from where I sit, it looks like it did a piss-poor job of protecting incumbents

Really? Well, let’s see:

Consider that there were 435 races in the House and Senate with an incumbent trying to retain his or her seat. Only 26 – 6% — of challengers in these races have won. That’s pretty low for a “throw the bums out” election. Pending the outcome of three or four yet-to-be-determined races, this year’s 94% incumbent reelection rate appears to be slightly higher than the 90% rate of 1994.

So, it’s more like throw a small amount of the bums out. So, yeah, in a year supposedly marked by fed up and angry voters, only 6% of politicians lost their jobs. It’s a higher incumbency rate than the Republican Revolution. If that ain’t protecting incumbency, I don’t know what is.

Make your own here. Meanwhile, putting your losers in charge seems to be working.

Tam’s book should be a better seller though.

Update: OK, one more:

I’ve been highlighting a lot of the good. Michael Bane says not so fast:

I got a quick bulletin from Jim Shepherd at The Shooting Wire, the only guy in this business with more (and sneakier) contacts than moi, that elements of the gun control agenda WILL be in the Dems’ “First 100 Hours” Pelosi action plan

Folks, if that’s the case, the only thing that can stop it is from within the Democrat party. Don’t count on Republicans, they couldn’t even stand up to one another.

Update: Countertop says nyuh-uh:

Heck, what your gonna find is that no anti gun legislation is getting through the senate – indeed we might even be able to move pro gun legislation through (and withstand filibusters). No matter what the Nancy Pelosi House does, they will have to contend with this simple fact.

See what I mean.

same as the old boss.

Oooh, Tommy Gun.

Seen at Knoxviews:

I would offer that Digby has hit upon something important here. Southern conservatism and its self-centered agenda has been thrust into the national spotlight, and undeservedly so. He argues (convincingly, to my eye) that not only has that agenda been repudiated in this electoral cycle, but also that the Democratic Party has demonstrated conclusively that a majority can be held without the South.

Yes. Make sure the first thing you do is abandon that thing that put you guys in power. Your guys ran in the south, west and other red states by acting, well, red. Period. Remember, your guys here in Tennessee hate gay cooties too. They cannot win unless they do. And that’s just how it is. Follow this guy’s advice, and you’re out in two years.

Remember this guy’s advice.

I’d heard rumors that the 45GAP would become a police cartridge pretty quickly. It is in NY now:

New York State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett announced today that the New York State Police has purchased 5,400 new Glock pistols to replace older Glock models that were called into question following the death of Trooper Andrew J. Sperr on March 1 in Chemung County.

The state police have purchased the new model Glock 37 which is a .45 G.A.P. caliber after what Bennett called careful consideration by a special committee.

Side note: I did read up on Sperr (cliff notes here). Not sure that a different weapon would have made much difference.

Update: looks like Claire McCaskill isn’t that pro-gun.

Breaking the mold:

She’s pro-gun rights, pro-death penalty and wary of big government waste.

Meet Claire McCaskill, the senator-elect from the generally conservative state of Missouri. She’s a Democrat.

Like many of her freshman Democratic colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives, McCaskill defies the long-standing stereotype of Democrats as the party of San Francisco liberals. Consider:

• Sen.-elect Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, calmly and resolutely against abortion rights.

• Sen.-elect Jon Tester of Montana, a flat-topped farmer and butcher who loves his guns.

• Sen.-elect Jim Webb of Virginia, a virtual compendium of alpha-male machismo who wore combat boots on the campaign trail and served as President Reagan’s secretary of the Navy.

• In the House, freshman Democrats include Heath Shuler of North Carolina, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

• All three new Democrats from Indiana oppose abortion.

Each of them is pro-gun too.

Rich has planned one for the local bloggers:

BlogFest Friday, Nov 17 6:30PM until whenever, at Barleys in the Old City.

Someone once said that to find bias in the press, one need only look at the adjectives or other descriptive words. The British press becomes a bunch of hysterical ninnies when it comes to guns:

Chilling haul of 400 guns handed in for Jessie firearm amnesty

A frightening haul of guns, rifles and crossbows containing enough firepower to supply a small army has been handed over to police following the gangland murder of schoolboy Jessie James

…

But what is even more terrifying is that, until several weeks ago, these weapons were sitting in British homes and carried by homegrown criminals.

In other news, some folks in Britain turned in their guns whereas I bet not one gang member in did.

Just wanted to remind everyone of Jane’s Law:

The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant. The devotees of the party out of power are insane.

A Chuck Schumer staffer is reading. Hello. Now, go shut that fucking guy up before he ruins it for your party.

R. Neal to Democrats in Congress:

Please don’t do anything stupid for the next two years. Thank you.

Since I’m no longer smoking, I’m experiencing Dysgeusia, which means that my sense of taste is changing. Dysgeusia can be caused as a side effect of the medication Chantix (which I am taking and recommend for quitting smoking) and as a result of quitting smoking in general.

I used to drink my coffee strong, black and with sugar. Now, I take it a bit weaker and with cream. Odd. I had a beer earlier this week and it wasn’t that good. Of course, that was likely because it was shitty beer and not due to Dysgeusia. Still, I’ve had no urge to drink a beer since, even the good ones.

And, suddenly, I love the cinnamon. Seriously. Red Hots, Hot Tamales, and those cinnamon gummy bears rule.

Les Jones Word of the Day:

A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity which has been altered to reduce or remove the disagreeable or objectionable characteristics of the original expression; for example, “gosh” used instead of “God”

I still think it’s fudging stupid.

Congrats to Ben for his group’s victory:

Future property tax rate increases would have to go to the voters under a Metro Nashville referendum on Tuesday’s ballot.

Supporters of the ballot measure outnumbered opponents by a strong margin.

Oh, where to start. Well, may as well get the angry stuff out of the way first. On the pending push for another assault weapons ban:

Some of you are making the assumption that there WILL be a grandfather clause in AW Ban 2.0. I can’t look up sources here at work but I do remember a few of the major gun-grabbing people stating the next AW ban won’t have the loopholes in it the first one did. I believe that one of the top gun grabbers made mention of ” no grandfathering ” any of the guns that were part of the original or any of the ones made after the ban – again, I’m at work and can’t look it up.

To which Kevin opines:

if Joe is right and an AW Ban 2.0 carries a “Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in” clause, on the date that bill becomes law, I become an outlaw.

I disagree. I’ll happily turn them in. Ammo first.

Oy. $300 for a lousy SKS… when did that happen?

Counter notes that Chuckles Schumer wasted no time:

To that end, he sketched out an expansive federal agenda: Teaming up with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on gun control, passing new tax incentives for urban job programs, and redirecting federal money to New York in return for the outsize tax collections that the federal government makes here.

Note to Democrats: shut that guy up, or you’ll be out in two years.

LaPierre:

They had learned the NRA’s brutal lesson that you can’t be elected running on an anti-gun agenda. So they kept their anti-gun views to themselves throughout the campaign.

Once elected, they turned over control of your gun rights to the Schumers, Kennedys, Feinsteins, Boxers, Pelosis and Conyers of Congress.

That’s why Tuesday will be recorded as the first day of an ominous future for Second Amendment freedom.

The Gun Nut:

And among the things you can expect to see are some really onerous gun-control bills.

Whoa, you say. Haven’t the Democrats learned that backing gun control is bad for political longevity? Why yes, says I, but they don’t care. They have to do it. It’s in their genes.

Is it pledge season or something? The VPC says:

In the wake of the Republican party losing control of the U.S. House and amidst key Senate losses, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has suffered its “biggest election disaster in nearly 15 years” according to the NRA’s own election materials. In its magazines and in member communications leading up to the 2006 midterm elections, the NRA repeatedly warned that its “pro-Second Amendment House of Representatives” was at stake. And in a direct-mail appeal sent out in July 2006, the NRA’s Political Victory Fund declared that “you and I could be headed for our biggest election disaster in nearly 15 years” if democrats were to take control of one or both Houses of Congress.

I think the pro and anti gun lobby both are a bit over excited, when GOA is the voice of reason:

What impact, if any, will the transformational 2006 Congressional Election have on Second Amendment rights?

While election 2006 may have been a referendum on many things (the President, war in Iraq, Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley for example), it does not translate into greater support for gun control at the grass roots level.

If anything, gun control was notable as a non-issue in this election. In compiling the GOA rating, researchers could hardly find a congressional candidate with any stated position on gun control on campaign websites.

That’s not to say many of the newly elected will not support the anti-gun agenda; just that they recognize open support for gun control will cost them at the polls.

Republicans got what they deserved, but did we? Err, no.

Cam notes that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership is giddy:

The Brady Campaign is saying that last night’s results mean Americans are in favor of gun control.

David Kopel looks at the election and the second amendment:

The Second Amendment has emerged from the biggest Democratic victory since 1974 with relatively little damage.

Over at The Gun Blogs:

XD45_NH:

while our gun rights might not be under fire, we have other issues that could impact us

JR A Keyboard and a .45 says expect a ban on weapons that look like assault weapons and talk of the non-existent gun show loophole.

Some thoughts I’ve seen around (not all of them I agree with but it’s interesting to see what people think):

Heh:

The Republicans lost and the Democrats won for the same reason — they distanced themselves from their base.

When the Democrats were in charge.

A commenter here opined that We pulled a Spain…... I don’t think that’s the case at all but I’d say quite a few conservatives do.

The Quote of the Day comes from Chuck:

If the Republicans buy into the bipartisanship bull, then they had better get used to being backbenchers

Ok, two quotes of the day:

In 2004, President Bush and the Republicans lived by Iraq. This year they died by Iraq.

Libertarians score more than the margin of victory in Montana.

For $485:

Stag Arms 2H Upper:
* A3 upper with T-marks
* 16″ threaded barrel with removable A2 flash hider
* twist rate of 1 in 9″
* chrome lined chamber and bore
* 5.56mm NATO chamber
* M4 profiled barrel (light under the handgaurds)
* F marked front sight (proper geometry for the flat top!)
* M4 handgaurds
* side mounted sling swivel
* price includes bolt carrier group and charging handle
* price includes ARMS#40A2 BUIS!

For $100 more, you get a quad rail.

Being the evil, earth-raping capitalist that I am, you’ll find it odd that I drive a vehicle that takes ethanol-blended gas. Until recently, I didn’t even know there places in the Knoxville that sold it. Well, there are. Here’s a list.

Everyone knows that this past election was different but so far no one has put their finger on what it was that made it different. It was the Internet. Actually an Internet site, it was YouTube. The Internet has been around for a long time but until this election the Internet was not a player.

Many people felt the 2000 Presidential Election would be when the Internet would be seen as a vehicle of change. But it wasn’t time yet. Something was missing.

So it was a slam dunk that the 2004 Presidential Election would be the Internet Election. But it wasn’t to be.

The reason? People don’t like to read. They would rather watch. The solution was YouTube. In the advertising world they measure impressions. In Television news Karl Rove and James Carville types worry about the news cycle. So what happens when impressions multiply beyond comprehension and news cycles are extended indefinitely?

Mistakes are amplified and exaggerated.

That is what happened in this election. For George Allen it was macaca. For John F. Kerry it was a bungled joke about education and Iraq. For Harold Ford it was the “Memphis Meltdown” and the “bimbo ad”.

In the days before YouTube these “impressions” and “news cycles” where very brief. After all, do people make a video tape of these moments and exchange them with their friends? Of course not, too much trouble. But YouTube changed everything. Hook your TV up to your computer and pesto chango you have a file you can upload to YouTube for FREE. Then you can link it to any number of Blogs for FREE.

The politicians were caught flat-footed. Most mistakes can survive a limited number of impressions and a short news cycle. But what do you do when you say macaca and it never ends? You lose. That is what happens.

But the YouTube phenomena is not just for elections. All across this country every City Council meeting, every County Commission meeting, every State Assembly meeting, and every meeting of the United States Congress is now a potential YouTube adventure.

YouTube is the inverse of Big Brother. The citizens now control the picture. We the people control the image, we control the horizontal, we control the vertical.

A new revolution has begun and politicians should be warned. We are listening to and watching every word you say.

Clued in by reader Ron, I found this:

Tester has won Montana, by most accounts. Notice the jab about the PATRIOT Act and guns. More Democrats like this please.

A little birdie told me that the phones at one of the prominent makers of evil black rifles has been busy for the last several hours.

Seen at Brittney’s:

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican officials say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down.
…
Earlier today, a spokesman for Rumsfeld said he’d given no indication that he would step down in the wake of Democratic election gains. The spokesman said Rumsfeld would work with Congress on Iraq but added that the focus on stabilizing the country will remain the same.

Mike Pence:

Some will argue that we lost our majority because of scandals at home and challenges abroad. I say, we did not just lose our majority, we lost our way.

While the scandals of the 109th Congress harmed our cause, the greatest scandal in Washington, D.C. is runaway federal spending.

After 1994, we were a majority committed to balanced federal budgets, entitlement reform and advancing the principles of limited government. In recent years, our majority voted to expand the federal government’s role in education, entitlements and pursued spending policies that created record deficits and national debt.

This was not in the Contract with America and Republican voters said, ‘enough is enough.

Our opponents will say that the American people rejected our Republican vision. I say the American people didn’t quit on the Contract with America, we did. And in so doing, we severed the bonds of trust between our party and millions of our most ardent supporters.

As the 110th Congress convenes next year, Republicans must cordially accept defeat and dedicate ourselves to advancing our cause as the loyal opposition knowing that the only way to retake our natural, governing majority, is to renew our commitment to limited government, national defense, traditional values and reform.

Unfortunately, it took an ass-whooping to get the point across.

In some ways, last night was wonderful: a firm repudiation of Republican war mongering and corruption. In others, it was disappointing. Anti-gay bigotry still wins at the ballot box, and marijuana still can’t catch a break. But even though Nevada, Colorado, and South Dakota voted against decriminalization and medical marijuana, Drug War Rant looks on the bright side.

Of particular note is the demographics of marijuana use and opposition. Older folks who have never tried marijuana tend to vote against legalization, and the vast majority of people over 65 have never tried marijuana. Among younger folks, marijuana use is much more prevalent. If you don’t smoke, surely you know somebody who does. And people who have direct experience with weed tend to support decriminalization. As the older folks get replaced by the younger ones, those ballot initiatives are going to start going the right way.

The AP:

Nine states approved eminent-domain measures barring the government from taking private property for a private use.

And hats off to Arizona for being the only state not afraid of gay cooties.

And good for the poker lobby for unseating 15 term congressmonkey Jim Leach. Otis says:

In a race that Republicans ignored because they didn’t think it could be lost, in a race the national media ignored because they didn’t see it as a potential pick-up for Democrats, in a race that even the candidate didn’t think he could lose, Rep. James Leach (R-IA) lost his seat to a guy named Loebsack.

Rustmeister says:

As the dust settles and the Dems take control of Congress, lotsa folks (myself included) feel there’s a new offensive brewing. Gun rights are once again in the crosshairs of those who would disarm us.

Not so fast.

There won’t be a big push for gun control for the next two years.

David Kopel has gun positions broken down by state. The Dems have been running their pro-gun and more conservative folks. I’m not scared. Yet.

For what it’s worth: Dem control of the congress could lead to a Republican maintaining the presidency in 08. I’d almost bet a beer on that but not yet. Speaking of betting beers, my beer post was deleted from Knoxviews. Or at least moved since the p-link still works. Lame. Update: It’s back.

That is a fast re-load. Mag in before the old one hits the ground. Heck, it’s in before it’s halfway to the ground.

Election smart assery.

The good news is that lots of people owe me beer. I bet Corker would win and was right. So far, I retain my 100% accuracy on political beer betting.

Tennesseans, by an overwhelming margin, are afraid of gay cooties.

Braisted on Ford:

As I’m watching MSNBC, they are already saying that Ford lost because of the “racist” Bimbo ad.

No…He…Didn’t

He lost because of his father and brother.
He lost because of things like “Democrats love the lord”
He lost because of ads which lied about his record.

A chart of votes by race.

The Campfield race wasn’t close.

Democrats get the House. And might get the Senate.

It took people 6 years to get as fed up with the Republicans as I was after four. Note to Republicans: You can reclaim some of the house seats some day by running on the principles you ran on in the 1990s. Only this time, you should mean it.

I predict Bush will now veto at least two bills.

The Democrats won largely by running (to use the media term) more conservative Democrats. The Uncle term is they ran the non-crazy ones.

Two frightening words: Speaker Pelosi. But I concur with Tam’s prediction of an uptick in gun sales.

So, now what?

Today, I received a fax from an employee. They went to a webpage, printed it, and faxed it to me. All this, as opposed to emailing a link. I guess we see why some folks can’t operate voting machines.

There won’t be one. I’ll do what I do every election night: I will not watch the yammering talking heads who have no idea what they’re talking about prove that they have no idea what they’re talking about. And I’ll get the full skinny in the morning without all the lame-ass commentary from people who have no idea what they’re talking about.

heh:

I just heard on CNN that Harold Ford, when pushed about the race issue, said that Black guys are undefeated in Tennessee.

Update: But that’s not as funny as this voter fraud.

The following is a column from award winning author Orson Scott Card. If you don’t read science fiction you may not recognise the name but those who do hold Orson Scott Card in the greatest esteem.

From the November 2nd column in the Greensboro Rhinoceros Times Newspaper:

Read the rest of this entry »

Is this guy from Florida:

WBIR producer Rob Lloyd says he didn’t get to cast his vote at the Farragut polling center this morning and he’s not happy about it.

He says he did cast his vote for the governor’s race, but then couldn’t figure out how to make the electronic machine move forward to the next race in which he wanted to vote. When Rob asked a campaign worker to help him move past the governor’s race to the Senate race, he was instructed to “push the red button.” But when he did this, he was informed he had finished casting his votes.

I wonder if problems like these account for the alleged voting machine problems?

Quite a few lefty blogs are reporting GOP voter suppression. I have yet to see as many incidents reported in the press.

Rove’s weather machine may be to blame.

Uncle summarizes the news:

Gamblers pick Corker; Republicans ban taking odds

Iraq: It’s going great.

Americans sympathetic to Michael J. Fox; still don’t care about the other 1.5M people with Parkinson’s Disease

Vote for [this guy] because he has [this initial] after his name.

Iraq: No, it’s not going that great.

Poll: Most want Republicans to lose; Most want Democrats to not win

Kim Jong-il: Hey, I know there’s an election going on but I’m still over here being crazy

Now that’s what I call hip.

Iraq: Is too!

Lieberman will win, still suck.

Blogger uses phrase Britney Spears Sex Tape in effort to draw traffic.

Iraq: Wait? There’s a Britney Spears sex tape?

We have computers that can:

Perform trillions of calculations per second

Render impressive graphics displays in more colors than the human mind can even pick up on.

Guide lasers for brain surgery

Run billions and billions and billions of business transactions with minimal error that result in financial statements that can be reasonably opined on

Get robots to Mars

Parallel park a car

But we can’t make fucking computers that can count with any level of confidence? Gimme a break.

Seriously, do they get anyone under the age of 80 to work at a voting location? They need that long-haired, fast kid who operates the cash register at Kroger in Alcoa. He’s fast.

I voted today. Some notes:

The line was long and slow-moving. At least 20 people came in to vote, saw the line, then turned around and left. What? You don’t expect busy people to wait around for the democratic process, do ya? Hopefully, they planned on coming back later.

Republicans were sleeping in. I got there at 8am and there were Bredesen signs and some old hippie holding signs for Harold Ford, Jr. at the parking lot entrance. Not a single Republican sign to be seen.

No exit polling.

I entertained myself in line by trying to guess who would vote for the constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The wife had asked me who I was voting for in the Senate. I told her I didn’t know and that I might write her name in. She said Please don’t. I’m busy.

How I voted:

No on the gay marriage ban.

No on special tax privileges for old people.

Governor: Phil Bredesen. Despite past reservations about a lame duck governor, I think he did a good job.

House: Jimmy Duncan

Senate: **drumroll** Bo Heyward. I did so not because I think Bo is a stellar candidate nor do I think my ideals line up with his (not even close). I did it because the Republicans fielded a terrible candidate. So, yeah, I threw my vote away to teach the stupid party a lesson.

I still bet one beer that Bob Corker will win this election. Offer not valid after 8pm.

David Hardy notes that the new ATF chief is Brian A. Benczkowski.

Sad. Via insty, who notes:

If you’re unwilling to crack down on criminals, cracking down on weapons will never reduce crime.

This week, it will be knives. Next week, golf club.s

So says Ron Paul:

Gun control may have faded as a political issue, but the mentality that Washington knows best– and that certain constitutional rights are anachronisms– is alive and well. Look for gun control advocates to bide their time and look for new ways to resurrect the issue in 2008 and beyond.

Via Joe.

I present to you the greatest metal band to come out in the last 5 years: All That Remains. I have both their albums. First one was great and I figured the second wouldn’t be (most bands suck on their second album). But their second is as good. See:

Via Ben, comes the carnival of taxes. Jeez, there’s a carnival for every thing. Soon, we’ll need a carnival of the carnivals.